Stefanie B. McBride, PhD
Associate Director for Policy and Partnerships, Antimicrobial Resistance Coordination and Strategy Unit (ARX), National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Stefanie McBride, PhD, is the Associate Director Policy and Partnerships in CDC's Antimicrobial Resistance Coordination and Strategy Unit (ARX). In this role, Dr. McBride supports strategic policy and partnership efforts to help CDC combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance in the United States and around the world. Prior to this role, Dr. McBride supported CDC programs to improve healthcare quality and patient safety and strengthen global health security. She also served as a Special Assistant to a former CDC Director during the West Africa Ebola outbreak and Zika virus emergency responses. After graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Ph.D. in chemistry, she was an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the Department of War. McBride received her B.S. in chemistry from the University of Louisville (Louisville, KY) in 2005, graduating summa cum laude.

Gwen Biggerstaff, MSPH, ScD
Acting Director, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Gwen Biggerstaff, MSPH, ScD, is currently the Acting Director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (DFWED) in CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID). Dr. Biggerstaff also serves as Deputy Division Director for DFWED. Prior to this appointment in 2025, she served as the Associate Director of DFWED’s Office of Program Support, Coordination, and Implementation (OPSCI). She began her public health career with CDC in 2006 with the Surveillance and Outbreak Response Team in the Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch. Over the past 20 years, she has led and supported national efforts in enteric disease surveillance, multistate outbreak response, capacity building, and program quality improvement. Dr. Biggerstaff earned a Master of Science in Public Health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and a Doctor of Science from Tulane University.

Michael (Mike) Bell, MD
Director, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Michael (Mike) Bell, MD, is the Director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) in CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID). Dr. Bell served as the deputy director of DHQP from 2010-2024 and has served as the director of DHQP since October 2024. Dr. Bell was previously the chief of the Epidemiology Unit at the Viral Special Pathogens Branch, addressing infection control for high-risk pathogens such as Ebola virus. His first position at CDC was in the Hospital Infections Program (DHQP's previous name), investigating outbreaks of healthcare-associated illness and writing national infection control guidelines. Dr. Bell received his medical degree from the University of Washington and trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado, and in Infectious Diseases at the University of California San Francisco.

Paige Armstrong, MD, MHS (CDR, USPHS)
Director, Global Health Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Paige Armstrong, MD, MHS, is a Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and serves as the Director of the Global Health Center (GHC) at CDC. Dr. Armstrong has previously served as Associate Director for Global Health in the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Associate Director for Global Health in the Division of Viral Hepatitis in CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), and Medical Officer and Epidemiology Team Lead for the Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch in NCEZID's Division of Vector-borne Diseases. She completed the Epidemic Intelligence Service. Dr. Armstrong is board certified in Emergency Medicine, completed residency at the George Washington University, and holds a master's degree in health science and bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University. She continues to practice clinically at Emory University and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.

Cliff McDonald, MD
Senior Advisor for Microbiome Health, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Cliff McDonald, MD, is the Senior Advisor for Microbiome Health of CDC's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP). Dr. McDonald's past positions have included Associate Director for Science in DHQP, Chief of the Prevention and Response Branch in DHQP, Associate Investigator at the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan, and Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Louisville. He is a former officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service. His interests are in epidemiology and prevention of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistant infections, as well as understanding microbial ecology and the role of the human microbiome. Dr. McDonald is a Fellow of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Dr. McDonald graduated from Northwestern University Medical School and completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Michigan State University. Following residency, he completed an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at the University of South Alabama, as well as a fellowship in Medical Microbiology at Duke University.